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Challenge #03497-I209: Sleepless in Ship's Night

"Can you help me? I can't sleep again. I keep waking up and pacing the floor." -- Anon Guest

Rescue Humans come with their own rewards. They also come with their own detriments. Such as chronic anxiety and sleep issues. The flip side is the hyper-vigilance that has saved far too many to be counted by now. So periodic interruptions to the rest cycle are a small price to pay.

With that in mind, Companion Thark kept any and all reprimands to themself and achieved enough consciousness to function. "Do you need a cuddlemate, a listener, or a dose of theobromine?" Those were the usual go-to's. Theobromine dosage at Ship's Night required an escort to keep the monsters in the dark away.

Human imagination was both a wonderous and terrifying thing. Human Dez had a fantastic imagination. Alas, the Deregger fear-based news cycles had trained him to imagine every worst possible thing.

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Challenge #03496-I208: Parenting is a Trial

Parent 1 - "And who do you want to sit with?"

Child - "Parent 2!"

Parent 2 - "Here's a seat."


Parent 1 - "Would you like a hug?"

Child - "No!"

Parent 1 - "Oh, OK." -- Anon Guest

[AN: Funny story time. When Miss Chaos (youngest spawn) started her first day of Official School, I asked her if she wanted a hug. Her exact words: "Shut up." Kids'll murder you. Heart first.]

Parenting has its rewards, but they're not where

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Challenge #03495-I207: When You Assume...

They're brought to the medics with blistered arms and burns on the face, though the eyes were protected due to goggles. OOPS, they didn't read the directions when trying to fix a faulty replica of a steampunk machine's boiler. -- Anon Guest

"The good news is that the damage is superficial," said Human Fonz, currently on some really excellent painblockers. "The bad news is that it's over -uh- about a quarter of my body. Who knew those leather aprons were for more

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Challenge #03494-I206: Not What it Says on the Tin

"I'm a cook, but I can't cook for shit!" she said.

"But how can you be a cook?" I replied. -- Anon Guest

"Okay," droned Human Cook. "I have to explain the joke. Cook is my family name?"

"Ah," said Companion Vael. "Asked and answered. From this, I can extrapolate that you complain of too many cooks and perhaps spoiled broth?"

"Got it in one. Thankyou for not making me dragging it out." Cook relaxed. "Shitty kitchen talent not withstanding, I can

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Challenge #03493-I205: Covert Operations

The CRC rewards handsomely for those that rescue Dereggers from their polities, but what of those who do not wish to leave their home planets because they are trying to help, from the inside, make things better? Does the CRC reward if they are kidnapped and taken as a "rescue" against their will, or are they allowed to go home to continue their work? -- The New Guy

Consent is essential when rescuing Dereggers. Forcing people to go where they do not

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Challenge #03492-I204: Covert Patriotism

The CRC keeps trying to reward them for going around rescuing Dereggers and going from station to station to help clean and repair things and getting the stations back on track. They only accept enough to keep their ship in good repair and have supplies. The rest? Well, there are now a couple of charities set up to help those in need. -- Fighting Fit

Picture in your mind a general transit made for just about any work within civilised space. The

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Challenge #03491-I203: Audience With the Thrice Sworn King

"I'm not a King."

--But you're wearing a crown...---

"I'm a servant.

---I don't understand....----

He goes to the window and points to the cities and lands stretching far and wide. "I serve them. They are MY Kings and Queens."

The thief nods in confusion as they are not being punished, but being offered more funds to help feed their family. -- The New Guy

What are kings? Conquerers and bullies. Greedy guzzling gourmands with cloth-of-gold over their guts. Gilded

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Challenge #03490-I202: Strange Happenstances

A Nagha, Kevin, Ma, Wraithvine, Podmore, the Raven-folk a tiefling named Abundance, and young Venin the Goblin all ready the place of destiny that Kevin and Ma were supposed to go. However, what they were to do, was a bit.. complicated. And not at all what anyone expected. But when they finally settle down, the motley crew at least have family to rely on, that is to say, each other.

Beings are from these stories.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03246-h337-weirdness-in-abundance

https:

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Challenge #03489-I201: Keeping the Balance

A person, a historian who wrote the chronicles of the world once asked, what happened to all the kingdoms, empires, and other lands where the corrupt leaders were felled by Wraithvine the Eternal, and there ended up power vacuums? Did he leave the lands in such a state, to go to war with itself as new powers tried to claim the thrones? Or did he find a way to rule them, until ones could be found that were worthy of such seats

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Challenge #03488-I200: Trouble From the Little Things

A broken-hearted child who was severely scolded and reprimanded all because they were trying to be kind, now hesitates to help even when asked. Constantly terrified they are going to be shouted at for doing even the smallest thing for anyone. They've taken to isolating themselves, afraid of being around others, and in need of a lot of therapy.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03334-i046-satans-cobblestone -- Anon Guest

[AN: If you actually read that story, there's not a lot of yelling. Frustration

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Challenge #03487-I199: And Your Choice of Dipping Sauce

A group of humans invite a large group of Vorax, as well as other factions of their kind, such as the farmers, the factory workers and so forth, to a huge planet that's a foodie paradise. Shelling out the time to take them to an all-you-can-eat-high-calorie-lots-of-meat buffet. Why? Just for the fun of it. -- Anon Guest

It's not often that one invites the enemy to a dinner date. Neither side was truly prepared, but the Humans knew how to do peace

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Challenge #03486-I198: All Turned to Ash

At the end of it all, The Void returned, now white as fallen snow. It swept across The Great Canvas, consuming all in its path.

In the destruction, there was absolute chaos. In the emptiness that followed, there was absolute order. Both found harmony, in the end, and everything was still. Silent. At peace, forevermore.

Battles long past, alliances forged, the endless struggle of order and chaos, all lost to time, like footsteps in the snow.

So ends The Great Canvas. --

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Challenge #03485-I197: A Terror in Tulle

Never, EVER, assume, just because the human's so much smaller than you, that you can just bully them. You will NOT like the results! -- Anon Guest

There is an ancient Human saying, Never trust a very small girl in a frilly pink glitter tutu with a sword. The reason why it's a Human saying is only known to those who work at Renfairs. It certainly wasn't known to the attacking pirates when they encountered the equivalent of a lost tourist bus.

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Challenge #03484-I196: A Basket Full of Trouble

A young Tiefling brings a bouquet of flowers to Vee and Amatu while Wraithvine deals with the local authorities after picking up the young magic user they met.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03371-i083-deja-vu-all-over-again -- Anon Guest

[AN: The WHOLE adventuring party so far is: Wraithvine, Amatu, Pondermore, Vee, and Rawr. Our little thief makes six. That's a pretty full adventuring party. Therefore, Tiefling has to be a recurring NPC. It's usually a FIVE man band for a reason]

"Posies, Daisies, lu-u-ucky

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Challenge #03483-I195: Don't Touch or Else

A very arrogant soldier in town shoves past Wraithvine and friends to scream at a person who was carefully packing some exotic pets into their carry cages to take them to the next town. Wraithvine warns the guard "Do NOT touch the animals!" The guard ends up with Wraithvine trying to save what's left of a badly poisoned hand. -- Anon Guest

It happened so fast. From, "Oi! Do you have a license to be doing that?" through, "Don't touch those!" to,

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